The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for collecting and recycling a petroleum by-product. In particular, the present invention relates to a container or bin having a heating element and also relates to a method using the container or bin for collecting and recycling petroleum by-products, such as hydrocarbon residue from crude oil, hydrocarbon residue from petroleum based products, sulfur, and other by-products.
Certain types of crude oil, such as Alaskan North Slope crude oil, and certain types of petroleum based products contain a hydrocarbon component that over time settles out and accumulates in vessels, such as ships for transporting crude oil, storage tanks for housing crude oil, crude oil pipelines, and other types of storage or transport vessels for petroleum or crude oil that are used in the petroleum industry. This hydrocarbon component is typically in the form of a waxy or wax-like solid material. Once this hydrocarbon component settles out from the crude oil or petroleum material and accumulates in a storage tank, it is very difficult to remove or recover. Such storage tanks or vessels that contain the crude oil or petroleum product are commonly found on ships, at terminals, and at refineries.
It is often necessary that the ships used to carry petroleum or crude oil, as well as the petroleum or crude oil storage tanks, undergo a complete and thorough cleaning. Such complete and thorough cleaning, which includes the removal or recovery of hydrocarbon residues from the ships and storage tanks, often occurs prior to a Critical Area Inspection Program (CAIP), prior to unplanned or necessary tank repairs, prior to sale or storage of a ship or tank, prior to a product change in a ship or tank, or prior to the docking or storing of a ship at a shipyard. Currently, the expense and time involved in the recovery and disposal of hydrocarbon residues from all of these various cleaning operations is very high. In addition, the ships must be cleaned, and in particular, prior to docking or storing at the shipyard, because often there is much welding and repair taking place at the shipyard and the potential for electrical fires or explosions is high. When the ships or storage tanks are cleaned, it is desirable that substantially all of the hydrocarbon residue be removed from the ships or storage tanks in order to eliminate the potential risk of fires or explosions.
Known containers for storing hydrocarbon residue collected from clean-up operations on ships and at refineries typically include 55 gallon steel cylindrical drum containers. However, due to the limited size of these containers, numerous containers, typically 200 or more containers, must be used in a standard clean-up operation. The more containers that are used in collection of the residue, the greater the expense in purchasing the containers, in handling and transporting the containers, and in disposing of the containers. In addition, the more containers that are used, the greater the time involved in loading, unloading, and transporting the containers. Moreover, the 55 gallon drum containers typically cannot be reused without extensive cleaning procedures as required by the Department of Transportation. Such cleaning procedures typically include triple rinsing, the use of steam, and the use of a cleaning solution. This increases labor, materials, transport, and handling costs.
Other known containers for storing hydrocarbon residue collected from clean-up operations on ships and at refineries include cardboard boxes lined with polypropylene, steel roll-off bins, and canvas bags. However, neither these known containers nor the 55 gallon drum containers are equipped with heating elements for processing the hydrocarbon residue into a recyclable product. Rather, the hydrocarbon residue collected in these known containers must be transferred to another vessel specially equipped with a heating element for processing. Such vessel may include a portable sealable tank equipped with a heating element, such as a Baker tank from Baker Tank of Southgate, Calif. However, such tanks must typically be rented or obtained from another source and the availability of such tanks may be a problem. In addition, the hydrocarbon residue in these known containers must be transported to the available tanks for processing. This increases handling, labor, and transportation costs.
In addition, known methods for removing hydrocarbon residue or petroleum based residue from petroleum tanks exist. For example, crude oil washing machines are typically used to clean storage tanks to remove or recover hydrocarbon residue. However, a difficulty with known crude oil washing machines is that they do not recover 100% of the hydrocarbon residue. In many ship designs, crude oil washing machines typically only remove or recover up to 85% of the hydrocarbon residue. Due to the internal structure of the storage tanks, numerous "shadow areas" exist in the tanks, i.e., in corners and areas where the crude oil washing machines cannot reach. Thus, the hydrocarbon residue accumulated in these "shadow areas" is not removed or recovered, leaving the potential risk of fire or explosion.
Such known methods for removing and disposing of hydrocarbon residue are costly and time consuming. Removing the hydrocarbon residue from a single crude oil storage tank, which may typically hold up to 500,000 barrels of oil, sludge, gasoline, water, hydrocarbons, or other types of materials, may take several days to remove and can be extremely costly. The typical amount of time it takes to remove the hydrocarbon residue from the ship and tanks may take up to a month. In addition, the expense involved in removing the hydrocarbon residue from the tank may easily cost several hundred thousand dollars per ship or refinery. Moreover, once the hydrocarbon residue has been removed from the tank, there are additional costs and time involved in handling and transporting the hydrocarbon residue to another location at a distant site, and in particular, if the hydrocarbon residue is treated as a waste stream product. There are also additional costs involved in disposing of the hydrocarbon residue, such as costs for waste incineration at a federally approved treatment facility and transportation costs. Moreover, there are issues of potential liability for disposal of waste stream products at federally approved treatment facilities.
In addition, known methods for removing hydrocarbon residue from storage tanks often involve disposing of the hydrocarbon residue into a waste stream rather than converting or recycling the hydrocarbon residue into a usable refinery product. Such disposal of hydrocarbon residues or other petroleum residues into a waste stream has the potential for contaminating land or water environments, and in turn, has the potential for creating liability problems for the entity disposing of the hydrocarbon residue as waste.
Accordingly, there is a need for a container or bin for collecting and recycling a petroleum by-product, such as hydrocarbon residue from crude oil, hydrocarbon residue from petroleum based products, sulfur, and other by-products. In particular, there is a need for such a container or bin that decreases the use, labor, handling, and transport costs associated with known containers; that has a greater volume capacity than known 55 gallon drum containers; that is reusable and has a long use life; that does not require expensive cleaning procedures after use and thus decreases the labor and materials costs associated with cleaning known containers; that is designed for use on tanker ships; that is easily transported from tanker ships to refineries or other locations; that is designed to be within the limits of dockside cranes and pallet jacks; and that includes an internal heating element so that the hydrocarbon residue or petroleum by-product can be processed directly in the container or bin, thus eliminating the need for a specially equipped portable tank that must be rented or made available for processing the hydrocarbon residue and thus decreasing the costs of labor, handling, and processing.
In addition, there is a need for a method for collecting all or substantially all of the hydrocarbon residue from a clean-up operation of a ship or refinery after being initially cleaned with known washing methods and machines, such that there is a decrease or elimination of the potential risk of fire or explosion; that decreases the overall time for removal and disposal of the hydrocarbon residue; that decreases or eliminates the handling, labor, transport, and disposal of the hydrocarbon residue to another location or processing vessel once it is removed from the ship or refinery, and thus decreases the associated time and expense involved; that allows for recycling of the hydrocarbon residue from a waste stream product to a usable refinery product; and, that eliminates potential liability for environmental contamination due to the disposal of the waste stream product, and in particular, the potential liability involved with disposal at federally approved treatment facilities.
The present invention satisfies these needs and provides all of these advantages over known apparatuses and methods for collecting and recycling of petroleum by-products.